On my way to becoming an economist

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Attending Duke Economics for my PhD

The long and stressful PhD application process has finally come to an end. I have got a few offers and waitlists, and after careful considerations I have decided to stay at Duke and pursue a PhD in economics. While this path is guaranteed to be challenging, I cannot wait to explore the interesting questions in various fields of economics. I am confident that I will do well in this profession.

I feel lucky to have attended Duke’s economics masters program, where I met so many caring mentors and excellent peers. The masters program also makes my transition into the PhD program smoother. Since I will be exempted from four out of six PhD core courses, I can start working on researcher earlier! But I’m definitely going to take this summer off, because as one professor of mine puts it:”if all goes well for you, it’ll be the last long period of leisure you’ll have until retirement”.

Two years after graduation, I find my education at The University of Hong Kong extremely helpful for my long-term personal growth. Although a significant portion of my life there was spent worrying about not overcoming challenges and being disappointed by explicit and implicit discrimination, I have become much more resilient to pressure, more confident, and more caring to others. My experience as the vice chairperson of Union Choir has taught me a lot about working with people from different backgrounds, which I believe will be beneficial no matter what career I choose. It also made me a better singer, without doubt.

Coincidentally, this is the 300th post of my blog. I will continue writing, hopefully with more insight as my research opens up new windows of opportunities for me.